[BleedingEdge]

Hi guys,

I am looking at purchasing an application to make deployment of applications across several PCs and sites easier. These are computers that are being used on theatre tours where they will have neither a net connection or a "tech guy" to manage them (the sound engineer will be the closest to that). So the whole install procedure needs to be completely hands-off (bar putting the CD in and letting it autorun).

Basically, my requirements are:
- to be able to create an MSI that will work almost as a bootstrapper for starting and chaining several applications with their silent flags
- Repackaging various other "legacy setup" programs into MSIs

I have been looking at Wise Package Studio and Wise Installation Studio. Which would you guys recommend over the other?

Many thanks,

Martin

[ajua]

From my experience, i would recommend InstallShield (latest version is 2009).

Repackaging complex applications is a real pain and the repackaging features of the latest versions of Wise and InstallShield are not making that much easier. You can, however, use programs like Regshot or file activity monitors (like Sysinternals Process Monitor) to make manual repackaging as few applications are too complex to make this a nightmare...

Why don't you get the trial versions from Wise and InstallShield and then make a decision based on how you filled your needs with both of them.

Also, you can try Caphyon Advanced Installer trial to test it. This is a very good (and cheaper) alternative to the more featured (and expensive) Wise or InstallShield solutions.

[BleedingEdge]

I've taken a look at the demo of IS 2009, and it seems to suit me pretty well. Thanks for the help!